REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • 28(2): 363–366 • AUG 2021

Turtle Rescue Centre, Bhagalpur (Bihar), IndiaAkshay Bajaj1, Rajeev Chauhan2, and Sudhakar Sathiaseelan3

1Project Fellow, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, India (akshaybajaj04@gmail.com)2Secretary General, Society for Conservation of Nature (SCoN), Etawah, India

3IFS, Conservator of Forest, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Department, Bihar, India

Photographs by Akshay Bajaj and Aditya Raj.

363Copyright is held by the authors. Articles in R&A are made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license.

HTTPS://JOURNALS.KU.EDU/REPTILESANDAMPHIBIANS

Originating from the Gangotri Glacier in the Himalayas, the main channel of the Ganga River flows about 2,550

km (Sarkar et al. 2012), housing a diversity of life forms from phytoplankton to higher aquatic vertebrates (Tare et al. 2013), which collectively provide complete ecosystem services including a self-waste processing system that produces high water quality and productivity (Sinha 2015). Over time, the increase in anthropogenic pressure has severely impacted this freshwater system. Hydroelectric projects, construction of barrages and dams, industrial effluent discharge, sewage, and unlimited biological resource extraction (water extraction, sand mining, and species exploitation) have tremendously altered the structural morphology and flow regime of the river and also significantly and negatively affected interlinked species habitat (WII-GACMC 2017). These factors have resulted in the isolation and fragmentation of populations of many species. Much of the illegal pet trade from various parts of the country is smuggled through Kolkata with Bihar serv-ing as one of the primary sources of illegally collected turtles; this has resulted in an increase in the confiscation of live tur-tles (Chaudhary and Bhupathy 1993). In response to negative

reports of smuggling in the print media and due to significant efforts by various agencies to monitor and control this illegal trade, a dedicated facility for chelonian rescue and rehabilita-tion was established in Bhagalpur District (Bihar) along the right bank (downstream) of the Ganga (Fig. 1). The facility is within the Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary (ENVIS 2020), which provides protection for many threatened spe-cies, including the Smooth-coated Otter (Lutrogale perspicil-

C O N S E R V A T I O N I N A C T I O N

Reptiles & Amphibians ISSN 2332-4961

IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • VOL15, NO 4 • DEC 2008 189TABLE OF CONTENTS

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

F E A T U R E A R T I C L E S

Chasing Bullsnakes (Pituophis catenifer sayi) in Wisconsin: On the Road to Understanding the Ecology and Conservation of the Midwest’s Giant Serpent ...................... Joshua M. Kapfer 190

The Shared History of Treeboas (Corallus grenadensis) and Humans on Grenada: A Hypothetical Excursion ............................................................................................................................Robert W. Henderson 198

R E S E A R C H A R T I C L E S

The Texas Horned Lizard in Central and Western Texas ....................... Emily Henry, Jason Brewer, Krista Mougey, and Gad Perry 204 The Knight Anole (Anolis equestris) in Florida

.............................................Brian J. Camposano, Kenneth L. Krysko, Kevin M. Enge, Ellen M. Donlan, and Michael Granatosky 212

C O N S E R V A T I O N A L E R T

World’s Mammals in Crisis ............................................................................................................................................................. 220 More Than Mammals ...................................................................................................................................................................... 223 The “Dow Jones Index” of Biodiversity ........................................................................................................................................... 225

H U S B A N D R Y

Captive Care of the Central Netted Dragon ....................................................................................................... Shannon Plummer 226

P R O F I L E

Kraig Adler: A Lifetime Promoting Herpetology ................................................................................................ Michael L. Treglia 234

C O M M E N T A R Y

The Turtles Have Been Watching Me ........................................................................................................................ Eric Gangloff 238

B O O K R E V I E W

Threatened Amphibians of the World edited by S.N. Stuart, M. Hoffmann, J.S. Chanson, N.A. Cox, R. Berridge, P. Ramani, and B.E. Young .............................................................................................................. Robert Powell 243

CONSERVATION RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Conservation Research Reports ................................. 245 NATURAL HISTORY RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Reports on Natural History ................................. 247 NEWBRIEFS ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 248 EDITORIAL INFORMATION ..................................................................................................................................................... 251 FOCUS ON CONSERVATION: A Project You Can Support ............................................................................................... 252

Front Cover. Shannon Plummer.Totat et velleseque audant mo estibus inveliquo velique rerchil erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum fugiatis maionsequat eumque moditia erere nonsedis ma sectiatur ma derrovitae voluptam, as quos accullabo.

Back Cover. Michael KernTotat et velleseque audant mo

estibus inveliquo velique rerchil erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus

aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum fugiatis maionsequat eumque

moditia erere nonsedis ma sectia-tur ma derrovitae voluptam, as

IRC

F

REPTILES & AMPHIBIANSC O N S E R V AT I O N A N D N AT U R A L H I S T O R Y

Fig. 1. Location of the Turtle Rescue Centre, Bhagalpur District, Bihar, India.

Fig. 2. One of four pools for turtles (left) and the tortoise exhibit with provisions for shade (right).

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late), Gangetic Dolphin (Planista gangetica), turtles, Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus), and 198 species of birds (Chaudhary et al. 2006; Dey et al. 2014; Sinha 2015). The mission of the facility is to rehabilitate animals in distress (rescued or confis-cated) and release them into their natural habitat. The estab-lishment of the facility is a joint effort of the Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Department of Bihar and the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun (NMCG Project). The centre is located within the campus of the Forest Department of Sunderban (25.261987°N, 87.011124°E) and is the first turtle and tortoise rescue and rehabilitation facility in the state of Bihar. The Centre provides appropriate facilities with four pools for turtles and an exhibit for tortoises (Fig. 2). It currently houses nine Brown Roofed Turtles (Pangshura smithii) and five Indian Flap-shelled Turtles (Lissemys punctata). Since live animals in captivity must adapt themselves mentally as well as physiologically to constrained circumstances, manage-ment can be challenging and protocols must address sanita-tion, nutrition, and environmental enrichment. Effective sanitation prevents the spread of diseases and zoonoses (Kishinovsky et al. 2018). All leftover food is removed daily to prevent buildup of wastes. A bio-secure environment within and around the facility includes restricted entry with potas-sium permanganate footbaths that disable bacterial and viral pathogens (changed on alternate days; EPA 1999) and daily cleaning (Fig. 3) to enable cleanliness and positive aesthetics. Handling chelonians also entails a potential risk of exposure to common zoonoses such as Salmonellosis, Campylobacter, Yersinia, and Mycobacterium (McArthur 2004). Personal pro-tective gear (disposable masks, gloves) is used by the staff dur-

ing the daily work routine that ends with handwashing once the work is completed. McArthur et al. (2004) noted that chelonians show four patterns of excretion (i.e., uricotelism, ureo-uricotelism, ureotelism, and amino-ureotelism) depending on the actual habitat of the species. Consequently, having good water qual-ity (free from nitrogenous waste, dissolved pollutants, decay-ing leftover food) is essential. To address this, the facility is equipped with a filtration unit (Fig. 4) powered by an electric pump (0.5 hp). The unit has a three-stage filtration and oxy-genation system that works on the principle of mechanical (stage one), biological (stage two), and chemical (stage three) filtration before circulating back to the pool. The filter media used in stage one are foam and sponges; stage two uses bio-balls and ceramic (oyster shell) rings, whereas activated char-

BAJAJ ET AL.

Fig. 3. Efforts to minimize the risk of infection include a footbath at the entrance of the Turtle Rescue Centre (left) and daily cleaning (right).

Fig. 4. The water filtration unit at the Turtle Rescue Centre. A schematic illustration showing the three-step sequence used (A); the filter at the facility (B); and filter media used in each respective step: Foam and sponges (C), ceramic rings and bio-balls (D), and activated charcoal (E).

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coal is used in stage three. Mechanical filter media restrict pas-sage of large particles; biological media (bio-balls and ceramic rings) eliminate excessive ammonia and nitrites by increasing surface area to house bacteria and by ammonification and nitrification (ceramic rings); chemical media use the principle of adsorption. Additionally, one-third of the water from each pool is replaced by freshwater every third day and pools are completely drained and cleaned once each month. The rescued and confiscated turtles include herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores, necessitating a wide range of spe-cies- and age-specific food items (Fig. 5). These included

locally sourced fresh seasonal vegetables and fruit (pump-kin, tomato, beetroot, spinach, amaranth, carrot, cucum-ber, beans, apple, and watermelon) and fish (live and dead), shrimp, and boiled egg albumin. Winter in Bhagalpur District begins in December, with maximum and minimum mean temperatures of 24 °C and 10 °C, respectively; however, temperatures may be as low as 2–3 °C during cold waves (IMD 2011). The pools also are enclosed by thick white transparent plastic sheets for protec-tion during cold waves and water and ambient air tempera-tures are monitored continuously. Also, because ectotherms such as chelonians must thermoregulate (Meek and Avery 1988), all pools are surrounded by ample basking space in the form of Ganga River sand. Environmental enrichment is important for the mainte-nance of quality care for animals in captivity as it stimulates their psychological and physiological well-being (Swaisgood and Shephardson 2005). All attempts are made to reflect the range of daily activities that would occur in natural environ-ments. Native Ganga River sand is used as a substrate for basking, multiple terrestrial refuges made of naturally available material are provided in each pool and exhibit, and floating platforms made of bamboo and hay serve as basking platforms within the pools (Fig. 6). Seasonally available aquatic macro-phytes (e.g., Lemna minor [Duckweed], Eichhornia crassipes [Water Hyacinth], and Pistia stratiotes [Water Cabbage]; Fig. 6) provide natural refuges. The facility has a team trained to respond to rescue calls around the clock. Rescued animals undergo health assess-ments by a veterinarian, who checks for injury level (external injuries: not found/minor/major), discharges (ocular/nasal), dehydration, and state (active/inactive). Healthy active ani-mals are released in suitable habitat. The remaining animals are brought into the Centre and quarantined before being transferred to the main pools with other animals of the same species. Most of the live animals acquired via confiscations are sick or injured and in urgent need of intensive intervention by veterinarians.

Fig. 5. Food for turtles at the Turtle Rescue Centre include locally avail-able vegetables (left) and fish (right).

Fig. 6. Seasonally available aquatic macrophytes provide natural refuges in an enriched pool (top) and a floating platform serves as a basking site (bot-tom).

Fig. 7. Leftover food is weighed daily to monitor the diet (quantity and preferences) of each species (left), and basic morphological measurements (carapace length and width, plastron length, and body mass) are used to monitor growth, here of a Brown Roofed Turtle (Pangshura smithii) (center) and an Indian Flap-shelled Turtle (Lissemys punctata) (right).

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Leftover food is collected and measured daily to help the project team monitor diet (quantity and preferences) of each species and growth is monitored using basic morphological measurements (carapace length and width, plastron length, and body mass) (Fig. 7). Individuals that recover undergo a final health assessment and, if found to be fit, are released into appropriate habitat. People in the communities along the river have a deep spiritual connection with the Ganga. They also are actively engaged in the extraction of biological resources from the river. Frequent outreach programs (Fig. 8) are conducted to create awareness of biodiversity conservation by emphasizing the ecological role and importance of each species. These pro-grams are targeted at a broad audience (all ages and levels of education) and make use of all available media to disseminate information. Chelonians are indispensable components of freshwater (and other) ecosystems but their survival is now challenged by substantial anthropogenic disturbances. The Bhagalpur rescue and rehabilitation facility provides animal welfare, supports law enforcement, and helps raise awareness, ultimately con-tributing to the conservation of biodiversity.

AcknowledgementsWe thank the Environment, Forest and Climate Change Department, Bihar; the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun; and the National Mission for Clean Ganga for providing the opportunity and support to execute this work. We also extend our gratitude to Drs. Ruchi Badola, S.A. Hussain, Bitapi Sinha, and Parag Nigam of the Wildlife Institute of India for their extensive support. We praise the efforts of the range offi-cer and other staff of the Forest Department. We also thank Aditya Raj for providing photographs and for his significant efforts in taking care of the facility.

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Fig. 8. An awareness program for school children (left) and bird-watching with a local Nature Club and Ganga Praharis (right) along the river.